Intermittent fasting might not be better than counting calories. Here’s why it still could work for you.

By Jonel Aleccia | The Associated Press (AP) – As weight-loss plans go, it’s easy to see the allure of intermittent fasting: Eat what you want, but only during certain windows of time — often just eight hours a day. Instead of counting calories or measuring portions, dieters just have to pay attention to the clock, said Courtney Peterson, a nutrition researcher at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. “You have this really simple rule: Eat or don’t eat,” Peterson said. The technique has skyrocketed in popularity in recent years, becoming a& leading trending topic& on social media. But does time-restricted eating, a form of intermittent fasting, really help people shed pounds and boost health? Here’s what you need to know about the practice: WHAT IS INTERMITTENT FASTING? Intermittent fasting is a meal strategy where people switch between fasting and eating on a regular schedule, defined as at least 14 hours with no food, Peterson said. That can mean variations such as eating every other day, eating five days a week and then fasting for two days or limiting daily eating to certain hours. Time-restricted eating, where people condense all of their eating into a daily window of 10 hours...